


True Love

by It-is-the-Hannah (carry_on_my_wayward_outcasts)



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Based on the Princess Bride, M/M, Oneshot, there may or may not be a second chapter eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 20:44:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16436453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carry_on_my_wayward_outcasts/pseuds/It-is-the-Hannah
Summary: Steve Rogers knew what true love was. He had had it once- years ago, now, but he still remembered what it felt like. The warmth. The trust. The certainty that you would do anything for this person, that you would never leave them, and they would never leave you if they could help it. True love was picking each other up after fights, it was inside jokes that didn’t need more than a look to convey, it was whispered promises- You don’t have to deal with things on your own, I’m with you until the end of the line.





	True Love

Steve Rogers knew what true love was. He had had it once- years ago, now, but he still remembered what it felt like. The warmth. The trust. The certainty that you would do anything for this person, that you would never leave them, and they would never leave you if they could help it. True love was picking each other up after fights, it was inside jokes that didn’t need more than a look to convey, it was whispered promises- _You don’t have to deal with things on your own,_ _I’m with you until the end of the line._

Yes, Steve Rogers knew what true love was. He had had it once, and even though it was years ago, he had not forgotten- would not  _ ever  _ forget it. And yet this murderous, untrustworthy scoundrel pirate had the  _ nerve  _ to imply Steve had never known that feeling, and what he had done these past few years was anything other than desperate survival. The indignity of it was almost too much to bear, but he had developed enough of a self-preservation instinct not to deck a guy holding a very sharp sword, and so had to resort to other means of retort. 

“How  _ dare  _ you- just because you survive by murdering innocent people- I cannot  _ believe  _ you-” Unfortunately, Steve was not very good with words when he got worked up, and so instead of feeling the keen sting of a witty comeback, the masked pirate was now laughing at him. 

“Can’t even deny it, can you? It’s a good thing your ‘lover’ died before he could find out what kind of man you really are. Tell me, did you even wait until you heard the news of his death to jump into the arms of the prince, or did you move into the castle the moment he left?” Steve did slap him, then, self preservation be damned. In an instant, cold steel was pressed to his throat, but Steve found he didn’t care, and stared defiantly into the pirate’s oddly familiar eyes. 

“I’d sooner die than betray him, or his memory. When I heard the news that  _ you  _ had killed him, I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to track you down and get revenge. Anything that happened in the interim was collateral, as long as I got to you in the end and made you pay for what you did.” The other man laughed, and removed his sword from Steve’s neck.

“How’s that working out for you, sweetheart?” Steve glowered, trying to think of a comeback, but then he realized the pirate’s grip on the sword had loosened when he’d stepped back, and in his teasing he had probably let his guard down enough for- “Hey!” The man let out a sharp cry of surprise as Steve lunged for the sword, grabbed it, and kicked the pirate to his knees to hold it against his throat in one fell swoop.

“I think it’s working just fine for me,  _ sweetheart. _ ” He dig the steel in slightly, drawing a thin line of blood. “Any last words?” The pirate cracked a lopsided grin.

“God, Stevie, you always were unpredictable as fuck.” 

“What?” The pirate raised his hands up, slowly, as if begging for mercy, but then reached behind his head to untie his mask. 

Steve dropped the sword.

“ _ Bucky? _ ” He fell to his knees, unable to remain standing in the face of the man in front of him.

“Hey, Steve.” The pirate- man-  _ Bucky _ \- reached out to touch him, but Steve flinched away. “Long time no see.”

“You’re dead. They told me you died. Why aren’t you- And why the hell are you pretending to be a goddamned pirate? What’s happening?” 

“Till the end of the line, remember? I wasn’t going to let a stupid little thing like murderous pirates keep me from coming back to you. So I begged for my life, just so I could see you again. And the pirates must have liked something about me or maybe they just liked the idea of young love, because they left me alive, and the captain decided to fold me into the crew. And eventually I managed to leave the sea behind and return to you. Except, when I got back, you had moved on, and, well. You thought I was dead. It was understandable. But then I heard about an assassins plot to get rid of the prince’s fiance and start a war, and I thought, well, you might not love me anymore, but I love you so much it might  _ actually  _ kill me if you died, so. Now we’re here.” It was a lot to take in, but Steve latched onto one part in particular.

“I  _ never  _ stopped loving you, Bucky. Never.” 

“Well, I know that  _ now,  _ don’t I?” Steve glared at him, but it wasn’t particularly effective with the tears starting to stream down his face. “Oh, Steve, no, don’t cry- c’mere. Punk.” This time, when Bucky reached out to him, Steve collapsed in his arms. “Oh, love, I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner, I’m sorry I doubted you, I’m sorry-”

“Shut up.” Steve cut him off. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” Bucky gave him a long, searching look, but must have found what he was looking for in Steve’s eyes because he nodded in agreement. 

“Okay, Stevie. Okay.” And then he kissed him, and it was like coming home for the first time in years. When they came up for air, Steve took a moment to gaze at his partner’s face, drinking in the sight he had missed for so long. Bucky seemed to be doing the same thing, staring at him in wonder for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, though, his brow furrowed in concern.

“Wait, what are we going to do about your engagement to Prince Douchebag?” Steve laughed. 

“We’ll just have to find a way to break it off without getting ourselves murdered, won’t we?” Bucky chuckled, and pecked Steve on the cheek. 

“Well, that doesn’t sound hard at  _ all. _ ” 

“It’ll be easy as anything. Know why?” Bucky shook his head. “Because you’re back, and we’re together, and so I know everything is going to be okay.” 

“Sap.”

“Jerk.”

“Punk.” The familiarity of their banter was like a warm blanket after an evening out in the cold, and Steve couldn’t help but kiss Bucky again, just because he could, now.

Steve Rogers knew what true love was. He had had it, once, and he had it now. It was this- being wrapped safely in Bucky’s arms, knowing they were both alive, and together, and that that meant they could take on the whole world. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Hope you liked whatever the heck this was- a friend gave me the idea for a vague princess bride AU the other night and I decided that I just had to write it.  
> Leave kudos/comments if you enjoyed- or if you maybe want more?!  
> You can also hit me up on Tumblr @it-is-the-hannah  
> Again, hope you liked the fic.  
> Cheers,  
> Hannah


End file.
